The stranger in line
by deLattre
Summary: While waiting in the queue to a roller coaster, Rachel talks to a stranger.


"Excuse me. Aren't you Numbuh 362?"

Rachel glared at the adult behind her. He was tall, thin, bespectacled, and wore a bizarre mixture of pink and black clothes. He was carrying a lunchbox, which was also pink.

"I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else." she replied.

"It's okay." he assured. "I'm Benedict Uno, Nigel's uncle. I know alll about the Kids Next Door; I found out by reading Nigel's journal."

Smiling awkwardly, he extended a hand which Rachel didn't take it. "You're Nigel's uncle? And you read his journal?"

"Yeah, of course I did. Wouldn't you?"

"No, I wouldn't." she answered pointedly.

The line moved forward a bit. Four hundred feet above them, the _Omega Force's _coaster reached the top of the slope and plummeted down. The screams of the passengers reached Rachel's ears, causing her to shiver with excitement. This was so worth the thirty-minute wait.

"So what's it like being Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door?" Benedict asked.

"I can't tell you that, sorry. It's classified information."

He nodded. "I understand." A pause, then: "So what do you think of Father? Is he a dangerous villain?"

"So you know about him." observed Rachel. She supposed there was no harm in talking about Father if Benedict already knew about him. "Yeah, he's dangerous. In fact, you could say he's the most dangerous villain my generation of the Kids Next Door has ever faced."

The adult's eyes glinted with something. Maybe it was interest. "What exactly makes him threatening? Is it his pyrokynetic powers?"

"Pyro-what?" Rachel repeated blankly.

"Pyrokynesis. The ability to control fire."

"Oh right!" said the operative. "Well, yeah, that's part of what makes him threatening. But he also controls Evil Adult Industries and the Delightful Children. And if he looks scary, if you know what I mean."

"And also", she added after a pause, "he's crazy. He'll grind you up into coffee if he captures you. Seriously."

"I knew it." remarked Benedict. "I always the Kids Next Door were too afraid to fight Father."

Rachel frowned, suddenly suspicious. In his last remark, the man's voice had become gravely and smug. There was only one person in the world with a voice like that, as far as Rachel knew. If that was him right now, she was dead. But was it was possible?

The Supreme Leader shook her head. What was she thinking? Of course it wasn't _him_. If it was, he would have attacked her immediately, not made small talk. And besides, he wasn't even human, whereas this guy clearly was. No, this guy was just a very awkward adult.

"So, how's your brother?" asked Benedict.

Rachel felt her unease revive. She had a vision of her mom scolding her for talking to a stranger. "How do you know I have a brother?"

"Uh, Nigel told me."

Baloney. What reason would Nigel have to mention Harvey? "Did he really?" said the blond girl, pretending to be angry. "Well the next time I see Nigel, I'm going to have a little talk with him."

For some reason, this made Benedict smirk. "Oh dear me! He broke one of the Kids Next Door's rules, didn't he?"

"You're darn right he did! That's the problem with Nigel; he's always being sentimental. Ugh! I just wish he would think with his head for once." Come to think of it, that last statement was true, but Benedict didn't need to know that.

A few minutes later, Rachel finally made it past the ride's gate. But to her irritation, Benedict grabbed the seat next to her on the coaster. Whoever he was, she didn't trust him. He was hiding something.

With a jerking motion, the vehicle began moving. Soon they were clickety-claking their way up the wooden slope.

"Great view, huh Rachel?" the adult sighed.

"I guess. It's nice to see all these birds." A number of eages and falcons were hovering around the roller coasters, drawn by the noise. Or maybe they just liked the peanuts that some kids were throwing towards them.

"Say, you want something to eat?" Before she could say no, Benedict reached into his lunchbox and pulled out an ice-cream cone. "How about some broccoli ice-cream?"

Rachel thought she must be dreaming. "Broccoli ice-cream?! You're kidding, right?!"

"Of course not. Evil Adults Industries invented it a few months ago; you can find it in most ice-cream stores. It's a fantastic breakthrough: it makes ice-cream delicious and healthy at the same time."

"I don't care. I wouldn't eat that stuff if you paid me to!"

Benedict shrugged and began licking the ice-cream. "Suit yourself."

"Where did you even that?"

"Rachel, are you there? It's Harvey!"

Instinctively, Rachel's hand went to her comlink. "I'm here, Harvey. What is it?"

"I've got trouble! I'm at the main pool for the water slides, and I just saw the Delightful Children. They put some sort of powder in the pool. And now something's happening to the kids inside. Their eyes are turning blue!"

"Hang on, I'm coming! Don't engage the Delightful Children until I get there, understood?" Even as she spoke Rachel severed her metal seatbelt using a L.A.S.E.R. (**Light Armament Severs Extremely Rapidly**).

"Yeah, sure. Just hurry!"

They were already more than two hundred feet above ground, but it didn't matter-Harvey needed her. Without hesitating, Rachel stood up on the train's ledge, jumped into the abyss, and landed on the back of a passing eagle.

Benedict watched the little brat glide towards the ground. The simple-mindedness of KND operatives never ceased to amaze him. He had almost blown his cover earlier. But Numbuh 362 couldn't fathom the notion that her greatest enemy was human. If he looked like a demon, he must be a demon. Ultimately it was this immaturity, more than his superpowers, appearance, intelligence, or vast resources, which explained why they would always be one step behind him.

He took out his pipe and began smoking. It didn't take a genius to know why Rachel had jumped from the train: his Delightful Children were making mischief. He hadn't given them any specific assignment, but so much the better: he loved well-conditioned children.

He gazed in the direction of the water kingdom, a mile away to the right. Perhaps he should put on his costume and follow Numbuh 362, if only to give her a good scare.

Then the temptation passed, and Benedict's eyes returned to the roller coaster's approaching summit. His children could fend for themselves-he was here to relax. After all, even super-villains needed a vacation from time to time.


End file.
